About 25 years ago, my grandfather purchased Massachusetts Mayflower Society Life memberships for my mother, my sister and me (having himself been accepted into the Mayflower Society about ten years prior).

If I remember the process correctly, there was little to do for my mother who actually took care of the correspondence. My grandfather was in and all we needed to do was provide some easily accessible birth certificates. It took a bit over a year for the actual approval process (I'm not sure why), but there wasn't any pushback that I recall. Just a lot of waiting.

Now I've got children of my own and I'd like to continue the tradition. About 8 years ago I embarked on the same process, (a) to get my daughter (my only child at the time) inducted, and (b) to document a second lineage to the Mayflower passenger William Brewster.

I provided the appropriate birth certificates and submitted the application with the $100 processing fee.

It was rejected!

It turns out that after 20 years, the Mayflower Society has become much more strict in their documentation requirements. The historian returned my William Brewster lineage papers all marked up with red stars where I was missing information. Further, even with my currently documented line to Stephen Hopkins, they cannot be admitted without further documentation.

They require all Birth, Marriage, Death and Divorce records for each person in the line. A tall order.

This was information not required for my Grandfather to get himself and two subsequent generations in. Now I've got three children, and more than ever I want to give them the same gift that my Grandfather gave to us.

It seems that I've got some work to do. And I know from personal experience, and listening to stories, that there are some pretty tough cases in the mix here.

Time has passed, and technology has advanced. We'll see if I can't get the holes filled. Maybe with a little help from my friends here on FamilyTreeCircles, Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere.

Will you follow along with me on this personal project?

I'll be documenting in detail what I am going through. Please follow along and see if you can't help me get through some brick walls as I attempt to complete the documentation of my lines to William Brewster and Stephen Hopkins.

Comments & Reactions

Hi Scott, any updates on the past year?
Sounds not only difficult but possibly expensive if official copies are required. (Here in Australia they charge a bloody fortune for certified copies). Does the Mayflower Society accept DAR approved lines where they correspond? Thanks for a great site! Chris

While I was looking over your Brewster lines, it looks like we link up at Israel Doane and Ruth Freeman! Prence Doane is my next ancestor. I'm still searching. You've given me hope to keep going to get my application approved. If I do...I'll let you know. I'm from Cape Cod and love going through the old cemeteries to see where the ancestors are all buried. Thankyou for this website!

Jenn

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About

My first love is technology, particularly designing web applications that people find useful. About the same time I discovered the Internet, I discovered a love for family history and genealogy. I started building websites to help people find their family history. Years, and several projects later, familytreecircles was born.

I spend pretty much all my time on my Internet business (including FamilyTreeCircles), but when I get the genealogy itch, I dig back into my ancestry. Here on this blog, I'll write about the genealogy things I have going on -- a mix of technology and family information.